Balmfithey History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestry of the name Balmfithey dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in one of two places named Bamford in the counties of Derbyshire and Lancashire. [1]CITATION[CLOSE]Lowe, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print. Later records show the name in Yorkshire as well. Checking further we found the name was derived from the Old English words beam, meaning tree or plank, and ford, meaning river crossing. In this case the name referred to a settlement near which there was a tree or plank laid across a river to make a dry crossing. [2]CITATION[CLOSE]Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)

Early Origins of the Balmfithey family

The surname Balmfithey was first found in Lancashire, where "the estate of Bamford was granted to Thomas de Bamfordby, Sir Adam de Bury, temp. Henry III, for his homage and services." [3]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) As noted above, Yorkshire was later a stronghold of family as noted by early rolls. The Hundredorum Rolls list Richard de Bamford there in 1273 and later the YorkshirePoll Tax Rolls of 1379 list: Adam Bamforth and Adam de Baumford. [3]CITATION[CLOSE]Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6) Another source notes: "In the 17th century there was an old family of Bamford of Bamford House; there was also another family of Bamford Hall. Jerome Bamford held land in the Mealegate in the manor of Manchester during the reign of Elizabeth. The name was well established in Rochdale parish in the 16th century, and still occurs there. There is a Lancashire village thus called." [4]CITATION[CLOSE]Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.

Early History of the Balmfithey family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Balmfithey research.Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1657, 1612 and are included under the topic Early Balmfithey History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Balmfithey Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Balmfithey have been found, including Bamford, Banford, Banforth, Balmforth and others.

Early Notables of the Balmfithey family (pre 1700)

Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Balmfithey Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Balmfithey family to Ireland

Some of the Balmfithey family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Balmfithey family to the New World and Oceana

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Balmfithey, or a variant listed above: John Bamford, who settled in Virginia in 1624; John Bamford, who settled in Jamaica in 1685.